I gone off and read the original news article ( in Japanese, worh a read if you know the language ). The interesting part is not that the sensor proven from Sony. Its how the text is phrased.

He pretty much state that Sony's CMOS ( for still imaging ) is the best around and voice that design and industrial production requirement for such deal ( of supply ) needs to be planned ahead of actual product deployment ( around 1 to 2 year prior ), emphasizing that they are free to design and thus source the best possible component for their need

If you are proficient with Japanese, then you know the underlying meaning is .. plainly

This had nothing to do with their financial situation, and that they are already working with Sony ( and not very happy with their prior supplier , aka Panasonic ) for a while which shouldn't be a surprise.